CBD Shows Promise for Colorectal Cancer Treatment

CBD shows potential as a treatment for colorectal cancer by targeting cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

A new study in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science indicates that cannabidiol (CBD) could be a viable treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC). Scientists at The University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle in Australia discovered that CBD suppressed cancer cell growth and induced cell death without harming healthy intestinal cells.

The research tested CBD on four cell lines of CRC—HCT116, HT-29, LS174T, and LS153—with varying genetic mutations that are commonly found in colorectal cancer such as KRAS, BRAF, APC, and PTEN. The research revealed that CBD caused apoptosis and inhibited cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner.

Detailed investigation showed that CBD induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in cancer cells but not in normal intestinal organoids. This indicates that CBD selectively kills cancer cells while maintaining normal tissue and is a promising therapeutic agent.

The research also found the CB2 receptor to be a major pathway in CBD's anticancer activity. When scientists blocked CB2 receptor activity with SR144528, CBD's effect on cancer cells was greatly diminished, which pointed to its mechanism of action.

These results indicate that CBD could represent a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of CRC, possibly acting independently of frequent genetic mutations that affect tumor growth. In light of the rapidly growing interest in using cannabinoids to treat cancer, this work contributes to the expanding list of evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of CBD.

Although additional clinical studies are necessary to validate these effects in human patients, the study offers promising indications of CBD's potential to treat colorectal cancer. With continued research investigating the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of cancer, CBD may prove to be a useful component of future oncologic therapies.